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Staghiglione brazade festival   

Every year on Easter Monday, the village of Staghiglione, a hamlet of Borgo Priolo, revives an authentic culinary tradition: the Brasadè Festival. The event celebrates the delicious doughnuts, which have a centuries-old history. Prepared with simple ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter and lard, these delicacies undergo a special baking process that makes them irresistibly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  

The Sagra del Brasadè is one of the most eagerly awaited spring events for locals and tourists who gather to taste these delicacies and immerse themselves in the local confectionery culture. 

A plunge into history 

As well as being a treat, brasadé have a special symbolic meaning. The doughnuts, strung together with cotton thread to form a necklace, were given to confirmands to wear as jewellery. This tradition had a deep meaning, representing an auspicious and protective gift for young women. 

Wearing these necklaces during the confirmation feast was a way of expressing the importance of the moment for the girl and emphasising her rootedness in the local culture and traditions. 

The ritual of making brazade necklaces has been maintained to the present day, so much so that the necklaces are still sold today, tied on a thread according to a ritual that is tangible evidence of the pride with which the community preserves its cultural and culinary heritage. 

Each necklace is made up of eleven doughnuts: five are turned upside down and five upside up, while the eleventh doughnut acts as a clasp: they look almost like works of art. 

Cooking: an ancient art 

What makes the brasadè so unique, and storable for a long time, is the baking method. After the preparation of the (unleavened) dough, the doughnuts are immersed in boiling water and removed as soon as they rise to the surface. They are then passed into cold water, drained and allowed to dry on a cloth. A technique that may seem unusual for biscuits, but necessary to give the brasadè that light consistency inside that characterises them. The subsequent baking gives the doughnuts their golden, crispy appearance. 

The festival, a feast for the palate 

The Brasadè Festival, which takes place every year on Easter Monday, has become a gastronomic event of great importance for the community of Staghiglione and the visitors who gather in the narrow streets of the village. Hundreds of doughnuts are made for the event, which is always very popular. They are made by the local women themselves, jealous guardians of the secrets and traditions of this speciality. Other local products such as cheeses, sausages and wines can also be sampled during the day. 

Not just for gourmets 

The festival is not only a celebration of a typical product of the small village, but also a moment of pride and identity for the community of Staghiglione. The villagers are passionate about preserving this age-old tradition, knowing that the festival is also an opportunity to promote the territory, local products and the hospitality of the community. 

Similar but not the same 

In Oltrepò Pavese, in addition to the famous brasadè of Staghiglione, there are other similar products with more recent traditions. These local variations, which can be found in Broni, Mornico Losana and Torricella Verzate, preserve the essence of the doughnut, but have some differences in ingredients and preparation. 

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